Harare, Zimbabwe, 22 September 2025– Zhizha Natural Dried Foods and FasterCapital“https://fastercapital.com/” yesterdayannounced a strategic partnership through the Equitypilot program to accelerate Zhizha’s expansion across Zimbabwe, SADC, AfCFTA, and diaspora markets, leveraging FasterCapital’s capital, technical resources, and go-to-market expertise to scale solar-powered, preservative-free food production. Rising food insecurity, severe post-harvest losses, and growing diaspora demand create a large market for affordable, shelf-stable, nutrient-rich foods. Africa’s dried food segment is expanding amid e-commerce and regional trade liberalization, yet smallholders face limited value-add capacity and cold-chain gaps.
Zhizha addresses a white space between commodity exports and processed imports by converting indigenous produce into export-ready, organic dried foods, reducing waste, and creating local livelihoods. Zhizha produces 17+ sun-dried products mangoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, matemba, madora, and more, in 200g, 500g, and bulk formats using solar drying and preservative-free processes. The woman-led social enterprise sources from cooperatives across six provinces, scaling monthly product units from 50 to more than 1,000 per SKU in 2024.
Zhizha combines provenance storytelling, eco-friendly packaging, and quality controls to meet EU, SADC, and diaspora market standards, offering a culturally authentic, climate-resilient alternative to conventional dried foods. Under the Equitypilot program, FasterCapital will provide equity capital, product and packaging engineering support, export market introductions, e-commerce enablement, and investor readiness coaching. FasterCapital applies rigorous selection criteria and hands-on acceleration; its backing validates Zhizha’s commercial and impact potential and expedites the $250,000 funding round focused on solar machinery, storage, transport, and market expansion.
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Expected outcomes include manufacturing capacity upgrades and first-stage export shipments within 9–12 months. Hesham Zreik,“https://hzreik.com/”Founder of FasterCapital, said: “Zhizha represents the convergence of impact and scalability, a proven founder, strong unit economics, and a product that meets real consumer and trade needs. Equitypilot will shorten the path to export readiness and commercial scale.” Linda Tsungirirai Masarira, founder and CEO of Zhizha, said: “This partnership validates our model of empowering rural women through value addition. FasterCapital’s capital and network will help us reach diaspora buyers while preserving Zimbabwean flavors and improving food security at home.”
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